No one on the Rangers is trying to overlook the fact the Flyers got a huge boost Friday night with the return of starting goaltender Steve Mason, who backstopped them to a pivotal Game 4 victory that tied this first-round series at two games apiece heading into Sunday afternoon’s Game 5 at the Garden.

Mason did not start any of the first three games of the series as he recovered from what was believed to be a concussion, and so the Blueshirts’ goal going forward is to make life a lot tougher for Mason, especially by getting right up next to him and not allowing him to settle in.

“You want to get on the inside and go to the net, you want to get net pressure, you want to get traffic, especially this time of year when goals are very hard to come by,” coach Alain Vigneault said after Saturday’s optional practice. “We had some good looks [Friday]. I liked a lot of things in our game. Their goaltender made some good saves, and we need to make it more challenging on him.”

Mason made 37 saves on 38 shots, and although that number might show the Rangers as generating a lot of offense, where they struggled was creating those second and third chances that can prove so pivotal in the postseason.

“I think we are aware we have to go more on the inside, score on a couple rebounds,” Derick Brassard said. “I think that’s something we can look [at]. We had a lot of scoring chances, and [Mason] came up big.”

Flyers top-four defenseman Nick Grossman was ruled out for Game 5 after he suffered a lower-body injury in the second period on Friday. Grossman was ridden into the boards by Derick Brassard, and left the game with 14:35 remaining in the second, not to return.

The most likely replacement seems to be 39-year-old veteran Hal Gill, who, according to reports, took line rushes in Grossman’s place next to Mark Streit in the Flyers’ Saturday practice. The slow-footed Gill played six games for Philadelphia this season, and has 110 games of playoff experience. The other most likely option would be Erik Gustafsson.

The Rangers’ power play had another disappointing performance in Game 4, going 0-for-4 to take them to 1-for-14 in the past three games since getting two big ones in a Game 1 win.

They think the only changes that need to be made are in execution.

“When you get an opportunity and a lane to shoot the puck, you have to do it,” Vigneault said. “We just weren’t good enough [Friday].”

Vigneault said the team had a “good meeting” about the man-advantage on Saturday, and added, “I’m confident our power play will be effective.”

There was no update on the status of top-six forward Chris Kreider (left hand) who skated by himself again on Saturday without stick handling.

When Vigneault was asked if he is getting daily updates on Kreider or if he’s just waiting to be told when he’s ready, the coach pointed his finger at the inquisitor to confirm the latter.

Kreider had surgery on the hand on March 28, and has missed 13 consecutive games. He’s considered “out indefinitely.”